Furlough Leave

DD1877

I want self isolate with my partner for 3 weeks as she has bad asthma and is classed at risk, I work as an employed parcel delivery driver,I don't deliver essential items, I have asked my employer to furlough me as the nature of my job puts me in contact with lots of people which then puts my partner at high risk if I contracted the virus, I was gobsmacked by my employers response of you can take annual leave or ssp, we are not able to give any other financial support, given i am trying to protect a vulnerable person in this unprecedented time , am I expecting too much or is my employer being uncaring about there staff and familes

calcotti

It is up to an employer whether or not to furlough you and they can only do so if they have no work for you. They cannot furlough you just because you want time off however understandable the reasons.

mattyprice4004

Yep, employer doesn't have to furlough you - it's their choice. 
You might not think they're essential, but most mainstream couriers deliver items to vulnerable people that they'd otherwise have to venture out for, so you could argue they actually are. 

Your employer should have a 'contactless' delivery protocol to avoid contact - you don't need to actually speak to or touch anyone to do your job. 
I think you're asking too much; for example my partner is currently at work now providing personal care to people who could have COVID-19; that's high risk, leaving boxes at someone's doorstep isn't.
Sorry! 

DD1877

Firstly i take my hat off to your partner and I thank them for the work they are doing, I am well aware it's there choice if they do or not let me have that sort of leave, I only deliver to retail and industry, all retail is shut and virtually all industry has come to a standstill so yes my work is not essential,  I can't leave parcels on door steps, the risk to my partner is very high if she contracted it, given the amount of work I don't have at the moment by going to work I am doing more harm than good

DD1877

In reply to the first comment it's not about  wanting time off its about going to work unnecessarily and putting my partner and others at risk

Mrsn

We absolutely understand why you want the time off, nobody and I include all the key workers in this wants to leave the safety of their own homes at the moment, be it risk to themselves or their loved ones. However the furlough scheme cannot be used for these purposes. 

gary83

I see where you’re coming from, unfortunately though there’s a lot of people still going to work who wouldn’t want to put themselves or their family at risk but that fact alone doesn’t make them, or you eligible for furlough, the scheme was set up to help businesses, not a makeshift or emergency social security scheme.

To make matters worse for you SSP should only be payable for the first 14 days of a self isolation if someone is displaying symptoms, not for any longer periods for shielding purposes.

calcotti

DD1877 said:

In reply to the first comment it's not about  wanting time off its about going to work unnecessarily and putting my partner and others at risk

I realise that which is why I said “however understandable the reasons”. The point i was making is that it is you that wants time off, not your employer who wants you to take time off.

DD1877

It's got to the point though were the employer want staff members in just for the sake of it, the cost of paying the staff, sending the vehicles out outweighs the income generated, when 3 or 4 routes can be amalgamated into 1 because of low delivery numbers, this is another reason why mine and other drivers work is not essential at the moment
Yes I agree that there are still lots of people who are going to work out there who are not key workers, somebody in government needs to address this and then maybe many more lives could be saved

mattyprice4004

DD1877 said:

It's got to the point though were the employer want staff members in just for the sake of it, the cost of paying the staff, sending the vehicles out outweighs the income generated, when 3 or 4 routes can be amalgamated into 1 because of low delivery numbers, this is another reason why mine and other drivers work is not essential at the moment
Yes I agree that there are still lots of people who are going to work out there who are not key workers, somebody in government needs to address this and then maybe many more lives could be saved

Ah, that changes things somewhat - I thought you meant you were run off your feet busy, rather than it being quieter. 
In that case, the responsible thing would be for them to downsize operations - makes no sense to send out multiple vans which are nearly empty. 

Thanks for your kind words - means I'm likely going to get it, but being young-ish I should be OK - and the work she does is absolutely essential so it's a risk we're both willing to take. 
Stay safe all. 

DD1877

I usually do between 80 and 90 jobs every day, I'm down to 35 if I'm lucky, makes it worse I'm in a small lorry, I am sure a self employed driver who gets paid per delivery would be very grateful of those extra deliveries at the moment, if my partner was in perfect health and not 49 I would would just suck it up like yourself but this is why I feel the company could be more understanding